The bus stop at Munirka, where the victim boarded a private bus. (Right) Investigators examine the bus

A 23-year-old medical student in Delhi is battling for life after she was gang-raped in a moving bus by four men, who also thrashed her with iron rods, on Sunday night. The victim and her male friend were thrown off the bus in south Delhi’s Mahipalpur area around 11 pm. Passers-by found them semi-naked near a flyover, from where they were rushed to hospital.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (south Delhi) Chhaya Sharma said all four involved in the rape have been identified. “As far as we know, four people, including the driver, were involved in the rape... Besides the driver, the bus cleaners or their friends could have been involved. The vehicle in question is a luxury bus,” she said. At least a dozen people, including some of the suspects, have been detained.

According to police, the victim, a resident of Dehra Doon who is in Delhi on internship, and her friend, an engineer, boarded a private bus with tinted glass windows from Munirka, south Delhi around 9.45 pm to Palam. The victim’s friend told police that the men on board began harassing the woman, following which he confronted them.

In turn, he was hit on the head several times with a rod, and the woman was dragged to the driver’s cabin where she was raped, the complaint said. Police rushed the two to All India Institute of Medical Science, from where the woman was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital, where the doctors termed her condition “critical”. They said she has suffered grievous injuries to head, abdomen and face, and is on ventilator support after undergoing two surgeries.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the permit of the bus has been cancelled by the Transport Department. “We will take all the necessary measures to ensure that such incidents don't happen,"" she said. National Commissioner for Women chairperson Mamata Sharma said: “Such incidents are increasing in Delhi. Police and government should be really alert....We will get an inquiry done and will also enquire with police as to what action has been taken so far.”

Describing the incident as 'shocking', Delhi Women and Child Development Minister Kiran Walia said the government would seriously work on installing CCTV cameras inside buses. BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said such incidents take place regularly but they are neither taken seriously by the Home Ministry nor by the police. “This incident will be replaced with another incident after few days. Delhi's law and order and security issues are handled carelessly by the government,” Naqvi said.